Anyone looking seriously at the new Fire? Apparently, the fiancee insists I'm getting that or the Nexus 7 2. I remember reading horror stories about crap all over the original Fire from Amazon, but specs show it to be a bit better than the Nexus. I really prefer the Nexus, but don't want to short change myself if there's a serious difference...

anyone else do file transfers over wifi? i use ES file explorer to copy shows to the SD card (and then watch them) but seem capped at 5MB/s with wifi N on 2.4GHz and 5.5MB/s on 5GHz - i feel it should be faster (s3 and S4 respectively)

Yesterday, along with the first wave of Galaxy Note 3 reviews, it was revealed that Samsung
once again had optimized their new smartphone for Android benchmarks. Through forcing the
device's CPU to run at its maximum clock speed of 2.3 GHz in benchmarks, it scored 20% better
than if the CPU was allowed to power gait cores like normal.

AnandTech dug deeper into the issue, testing a number of Android devices to see if OEMs other
than Samsung were guilty of optimizing their smartphones for benchmarks. Asus, HTC and LG
were caught boosting CPU speeds of their Qualcomm-based devices in a selection of
benchmarks, while Samsung was the most aggressive. Out of the seven benchmarks
checked, the Note 3 was optimized for six, while Samsung's Intel Atom-based Galaxy Tab 3 10.1
and the Exynos-based Galaxy Note 10.1 (2014) were also found guilty.

Motorola, alongside Google's Nexus devices and Nvidia's Shield, were found not to optimize the
CPU for benchmarks. This isn't overly surprising, because the cheating code isn't part of vanilla
Android or AOSP, which is essentially what is included on these devices.

The whole process of optimizing CPU clock speeds for running benchmarks is a phenomenal
waste of engineering time and money, as in the end it has no real-world effect on performance.
It's only making the devices look marginally better in reviews, and now that the media has
exposed the trickery of OEMs, it's doubtful whether the effort is worth the negative attention.
Needless to say we'll be looking out for any benchmark cheaters in our upcoming smartphone
reviews, making note of where benchmarks may be affected.

Apps I recommend:
Autostarts. Everyone should have autostarts. Task killers waste more battery than they save in the more current Android builds.

Battery Widget Reborn
Better Battery Stats Xda Edition
Google Currents - E-magazine reader
Handcent SMS - Best texting app bar none.
Mr Number - automatically blocks spam numbers and blocks custom numbers as well.
Rom Toolbox Pro- for those of you wish rooted/ unlocked devices
SuperSU
Xposed installer - for those who are rooted but don't run a custom rom, allows some of the customization options that wouldn't otherwise be possible. Can download and install modules that provide such tweaks such as:

Portal- gives a floating notification functionality like AOSPA's "Halo."
Xblast Tools - UI tweaks like notification bar recolor.
Gravity Box - More UI tweaks, some the same as Xblast so make sure if you use both you don't use the same tweaks in both.

Also:
SMS backup and restore- does what it says. Easy.
SGS touchscreen booster - sounds like snake oil but I swear it works to make your touchscreen more responsive. Works on most phones, not just galaxy.
Zedge- download just about any ringtone you can think of.

Google unveiled its latest Android build, version 4.4 KitKat exactly one month ago, and today we have some screenshots of exactly what's been updated.
As with the other incremental updates since version 4.0 Ice Cream Sandwich, the updates of the latest build are almost exclusively under the hood. Nevertheless, some of the latest inclusions are more noticeable, like the updated camera interface.
The leaked images are likely a bit dated - or Google simply hasn't gotten around to changing the build name - as there are several mentions of Key Lime Pie rather than KitKat.
In the Settings menu, you'll find new integration for a Printing and Payments system, which brings wireless NFC payment to the main Android architecture, rather than relying on third party apps. Looks like the same will be done with printer support. Then comes Miracast, which will let you screencast your device to a supported TV

Okay going to ask here before I start a new thread see if anyone can help have a samsung gs4 and been having trouble with the wifi dropping and reconnecting all the time... didn't have this issue when I first got it and my wife hasn't had this problem so is it the phone or router?

Also already had the sd card damage error XD

was on a older buffalo router then tried linksys e1200 same issue even tried updating the firmware with no success

Okay going to ask here before I start a new thread see if anyone can help have a samsung gs4 and been having trouble with the wifi dropping and reconnecting all the time... didn't have this issue when I first got it and my wife hasn't had this problem so is it the phone or router?

Also already had the sd card damage error XD

was on a older buffalo router then tried linksys e1200 same issue even tried updating the firmware with no success

Click to expand...

got the S4, no trouble like that.

had to reset the router at work tonight cause it wouldnt let me connect, but i think thats the router being glitchy.

if you have a d-link router you need a firmware update, dlink really suck with the latest samsung stuff.

Okay going to ask here before I start a new thread see if anyone can help have a samsung gs4 and been having trouble with the wifi dropping and reconnecting all the time... didn't have this issue when I first got it and my wife hasn't had this problem so is it the phone or router?

Also already had the sd card damage error XD

was on a older buffalo router then tried linksys e1200 same issue even tried updating the firmware with no success

Click to expand...

I think it's the router. I have a GNex and a Linksys E2000. Currently I am having the same trouble, where I turn on the phone, wifi drops, reconnects a minite later. I am also having issues with the rooted HP touchpad and my daughter was having trouble with her iPod Touch last night, too. I unplugged the router for about an hour and plugged it back in, and it's seemed better so far. However, I brought home an Asus RT-N66U to play with, and I think I might pick one up for permanent use.

What I liked about it was the 16:9 screen, perfect for widescreen videos, no black bars. The other 9 inchers were more square than this (ipad form factor). Not exactly a performer but it runs every game I tried with no slowdown and videos look fine. For $85 I can't complain (much)

I think it's the router. I have a GNex and a Linksys E2000. Currently I am having the same trouble, where I turn on the phone, wifi drops, reconnects a minite later. I am also having issues with the rooted HP touchpad and my daughter was having trouble with her iPod Touch last night, too. I unplugged the router for about an hour and plugged it back in, and it's seemed better so far. However, I brought home an Asus RT-N66U to play with, and I think I might pick one up for permanent use.

Click to expand...

mine keeps on doing it like every 10sec and sometimes last for a few mins but it does it on two different routers e1200 and a buffalo

but like I have said on my other post my wife's s4 doesn't have this problem.

On both routers and idk about spending 150 on a router my old buffalo has been working fine for a long time the e1200 was my moms but since she has at&t she got one of there's

I googled and only thing is with dlink and I didnt have this issue the first few months I had it first it was the 4g lte dl would stop working had to restart to get it to work then sd card came up damaged after a restart and now the wifi

also guy at sprint store said it wasn't the phone XD

well might call samsclub with there insurance I get upto 3 new phone's a yr with no deductible

mine keeps on doing it like every 10sec and sometimes last for a few mins but it does it on two different routers e1200 and a buffalo

but like I have said on my other post my wife's s4 doesn't have this problem.

On both routers and idk about spending 150 on a router my old buffalo has been working fine for a long time the e1200 was my moms but since she has at&t she got one of there's

I googled and only thing is with dlink and I didnt have this issue the first few months I had it first it was the 4g lte dl would stop working had to restart to get it to work then sd card came up damaged after a restart and now the wifi

also guy at sprint store said it wasn't the phone XD

well might call samsclub with there insurance I get upto 3 new phone's a yr with no deductible

Click to expand...

Do you have both routers at the same location? Until recently, I had an Asus N66U(/) set up as a secondary access point so I could get a better wifi signal downstairs. I disconnected it the other day while setting up a different router for work (at home) and I had some issues getting back online with it on. I unplugged it and haven't had any trouble since (knock on wood), so it makes me wonder if it was being too aggressive at hopping access points trying to get a better signal.

Do you have both routers at the same location? Until recently, I had an Asus N66U(/) set up as a secondary access point so I could get a better wifi signal downstairs. I disconnected it the other day while setting up a different router for work (at home) and I had some issues getting back online with it on. I unplugged it and haven't had any trouble since (knock on wood), so it makes me wonder if it was being too aggressive at hopping access points trying to get a better signal.

Click to expand...

There in the same room I just tried one at a time and see if it's still going to keep dropping it and it did this thursday took the kids to mcd for there happy meals and same thing happens dropped and reconnected after like 15secs